Girl Meets Jackson
by Rachelwrites7890
Summary: Summary: Riley is the sweet and innocent girl that no one would ever hurt. She was always a ray of sunshine and everyone adored her. Her family and friends will stick with her through thick and thin. She knows all of this, until someone changes her perspective drastically. Riley no longer feels safe within her circle of people. Why is this? Read to find out.
1. Chapter 1

Girl Meets Jackson

Written by: probablyobsessingovergmw & lucayacowboy on Tumblr

Rated T for Graphic Depictions of Violence/Abuse and mentions of suicide

 _Prologue:_

 _Jackson Hunt is a 10th grader at Abigail Adams High School. He's one of the most popular boys and a star baseball player who is also known for playing girls' hearts. Jackson had a string of girlfriends throughout his years, but little did he know, he would develop feelings for Riley Matthews. Riley was not the most popular girl in the school, and she was also a 9th grader when Jackson asked her out. All of her friends:Maya, Lucas, Farkle, Zay, and Smackle, had told her to be careful when it came to him. Riley, putting her trust in everyone as usual, didn't listen to them and began dating Jackson despite her friends' concern. No one else knew this, but Riley had also agreed to date Jackson because all her friends were in a relationship. She felt a lot of pressure to fit in, since it was high school. Lucas and Maya were a couple, as were Zay and Smackle. Farkle and her were the only ones not in a relationship. Everyone thought Riley and Jackson's relationship was going smoothly and that they were perfect for each other. Their relationship was perfect, up until a few months ago. Jackson had started to verbally abuse Riley when they were alone and Riley would cry herself to sleep at night. Jackson had crossed the line one day, so Riley broke up with him. This led Jackson to start plotting revenge…_

Chapter 1: Riley's POV

*2 weeks later*

Ugh, I'm stuck working on a project with Jackson. I just broke up with him and now it's like fate has drawn us back together. I was not happy about this, but school is important so I have to deal with it for the next few days. I reluctantly invited Jackson over after school around 5 so that we can work on our project. My parents are out for the night and Auggie is at Ava's, which is making me nervous. When he arrived, I cautiously opened the door and invited him in. He gave me a dirty look as he threw his jacket down on the chair. I knew that seeing him alone again was going to be awkward, but I didn't think it would be this bad. I finally decided to break the silence and say something.

"Look, neither of us want to be here right now. We both hate that my father paired us up for this project, but we have to deal with it. You know how important getting good grades is to me. We need to forget our history, put aside our differences, and work together to do well on this."

"Maybe if your dad wasn't our teacher we wouldn't have to do this at all."

"There you go again. Blaming everything that doesn't go your way on me or the people I care about. What is it with that? Is it really always my fault? It's like I can't do anything right in your eyes, Jax."

"You haven't called me Jax since you broke up with me."

"Jackson, sorry. So it is all my fault. I'm the one to blame for all of this?"

"Well it sure wasn't my fault, Riley. Maybe if you weren't so childish, we wouldn't be in this mess.

"Childish? Since when is that a bad thing?"

"Let's just say that you're lucky that a guy has ever had feelings for you. I mean I don't understand how any guy could love you to begin with. I don't know why I started having feelings for you. You're annoying, way too energetic, and yes, childish."

As I listen to Jackson insult me, I feel a few tears trickle down my face and onto my shirt.

"Jackson, how could you say those things?"

"Are you really crying right now? Make that babyish. You're a baby, Riley! I can't believe I actually dated you. I regret ever looking at you. You're not even that pretty and your style is similar to a 9 year olds."

I am now sobbing and trying to catch my breath.

"JACKSON, STOP!"

"DON'T YOU GET IT? YOU'RE WORTHLESS. YOUR FRIENDS ARE ONLY YOUR FRIENDS BECAUSE THEY PITY YOU. YOUR PARENTS ARE EMBARRASSED THAT YOU ARE THEIR DAUGHTER. NO ONE LOVES YOU, RILEY. YOU'RE NOTHING!

I was bawling by now. Even my middle school bully didn't hurt me as much as Jackson had in the past 7 minutes.

"OUT. GET OUT. GET OUT RIGHT NOW. GET OUT GET OUT."

I swung the door open and Jackson scoffed. He came up to me at the door and slapped me across the face.

"DON'T YOU DARE TELL YOUR STUPID LITTLE FRIENDS I DID THAT OR SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THIS CONVERSATION. IF YOU DO, I'LL COME BACK AND YOU'LL GET MORE THAN A SLAP NEXT TIME."

He stomped out the door and I closed it. I slowly let myself fall to the ground in tears. I sat there for a solid half hour just bawling my eyes out and holding my cheek. My shirt was stained wet and my eyeliner and mascara were running down my face, but I didn't care. I couldn't believe what just happened.

"He hit me. He actually hit me." I thought aloud.

I knew that my parents would be home from their date soon. I also knew that they couldn't know about any of this. I finally got the strength to stand up and walk upstairs to my bedroom. I sat in the bay window and thought about everything that had just happened. After about 3 minutes of processing, I realized how tired I was, so I flopped onto my bed and cried myself to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Riley's POV

I woke up the next morning puffy eyed and makeup smeared all over my face and pillow. I quickly hopped into the shower and cleaned myself up. I had gone to bed early, so I woke up with about 2 hours to was the first time I was actually happy about waking up so early. I have a lot of makeup to put on today to cover up my puffy eyes. I looked in the mirror and all I saw was a purple bruise on my cheek staring back at me. I gently touched it, but quickly regretted my decision as I winced in pain and yanked my hand away. I knew that the makeup would look unnatural since I usually don't wear hardly any face makeup. I was afraid my friends would ask questions, but I couldn't risk them seeing the bruise underneath. I tried covering the bruise as much as I could without using too much make up. It looked a little bit purple on my cheekbone where he hit hardest, so I put some highlighter on it just to lighten it up. When I finally felt ready, I stepped out of my door and head to school. I had called Maya earlier to tell her my dad was taking me to school, but I really just didn't want to see anyone right now.

Third Person POV

"Hey Matthews." Maya said.

"Hey Maya I didn't see you come by this morning. Is everything OK between you and Riley?"

"I thought-"

Maya was about to tell him Riley said he was taking her to school, but thought again. This would worry him, She should talk to Riley first.

"I thought… I had said good morning to you, I guess I forgot, sorry. Well I gotta go find Riley she said she and Farkle are...in the science lab. See you in class!"

Maya lied straight through her teeth. Now she really had to find Riley. Now she knew something was really wrong.

Riley's POV

I tried to avoid as many people as I could and had done so well, but it was time for history. I had my dad's class with all of my friends and Jackson...Or maybe they aren't my friends… maybe Jackson is right. Are they just pitying me? I sure wasn't looking forward to seeing him after last night, but I didn't have a choice. I had to act like nothing was wrong and I'm the same smiley, sunshiney Riley that I've always been.

"Hey Riley." Farkle said as I walked in.

"Hi." I barely whispered out.

Third Person POV

Farkle immediately knew something was up, but he didn't want to say anything just yet. Maybe Maya noticed something too. He decided he should talk to her first.

Riley's POV

I dropped my book and bent down to get it. I tried using my hair to hide the bruise but my hair fell too far forward. I didn't think anyone saw, so I quickly readjusted it and sat down.

Third Person POV

Farkle saw. He noticed the pale purple and blue mark on her cheekbone, but didn't think anything of it. Riley was always getting bruises, she was so clumsy. Then again, he thought, maybe this has something to do with why she seems so sad.

"Are you sure you're OK Riley? You seem down."

Jackson walked in as Farkle said this.

"I'm fine, Farkle."

Third Person POV

Okay, something was definitely up. Even Farkle knew that anytime a girl says she's fine, it actually means the opposite. He thought it was time to ask Riley about the bruise. He didn't care if Maya wasn't consulted about it first. He had to know. He didn't wanna see the girl he'd been in love with for years in pain.

Riley's POV

"Then what happened to your cheek, Riley?"

"Oh I just-"

Jackson was glaring at me.

"-hit it with my closet door as I was closing it this morning. Not a big deal"

I quickly turned around as Maya, Lucas, Zay, and Smackle walked in. Each of the pairs were holding hands. I looked away before they could see the tears forming in my already glossy eyes.

Third Person POV

Farkle wasn't buying her story, but he didn't want to confront her just yet. He saw Maya give Riley a look that said, "What's going on?" Riley just smiled weakly, so Maya looked at him. He shrugged. Farkle really wanted to know what was bothering her, but Riley wasn't ready to tell anyone yet. He decided to give her time. If it were something serious, He knew that she would come and talk to her friends. Or at least Maya. He was sure she was just fine.

Riley's POV

As I was walking to lunch, I saw Jackson talking to/flirting with one of the girls on the soccer team. He noticed me and started walking towards me. My heart felt like it was pounding outside of my chest. I was terrified. He wouldn't hit me in public, would he? Oh crap, he's coming closer.

"Riley, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Uh, yeah, sure Jackson."

"Okay, come with me."

He was trying to get me alone. I swallowed hard and bit my lip as I followed him into a side hallway away from my friends and anyone else who could hear our conversation.

"Riley. I need to say something to you."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Riley's POV

"I am SO sorry about last night. I never meant to hurt you. You just wouldn't stop crying and you wouldn't stop yelling at me. I got so annoyed that I lost my temper and I didn't know what I was doing. It will never happen again. Well, unless you act like how you did yesterday. I mean you're lucky that I only hit you once. You deserved a heck of a lot more than that. Anyway, I just wanted to apologize for my actions and let you know that next time you act like that, you will need a lot more than a little extra makeup to cover it up."

"Wow. I guess I was acting like an 8 year old crybaby. I deserved to get a slap in the face of reality. I'm sorry I made you so mad, Jackson. I'll try not to do it again."

"Yeah, I sure hope so."

"I should be getting back to the lunchroom. My friends are probably wondering where I am."

"I bet nobody has even noticed you're gone, honestly." Ouch, well that was hurtful.

"Really? Yeah, maybe you're right. Well, the bell is going to ring in just a few minutes anyway. My next class is all the way on the other side of the building and upstairs, so I should start walking now." I really just wanted to get out of this awkward situation. My English class is right down the hall.

"Riley, I walked you to English everyday when we were dating. It's right down the hall. Don't lie to me, Riley! You're just going to make it all worse. I know that's just an excuse to get out of this conversation, but I'll let you off the hook this time."

"Um okay. Bye Jackson. I'll uh.. I'll see you in history tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you then."

Sorry this chapter is so short. A lot happens in Chapter 4, so we thought it would be better to keep Chapter 3 brief. I will be posting Chapter 4 later today or sometime tomorrow. Thank you for reading! Please share your thoughts and review!


	4. Chapter 4

Warning: This chapter includes mentions of suicidal thoughts and suggestions, abuse, and injury.

Chapter 4: Third Person POV

Over the next few days, Jackson noticed Maya and Farkle talking about how Riley was acting different and how they were going to talk to her about it. Jackson felt Riley was on the verge of breaking and even though he threatened her not to tell, she would. There was no way he could let that happen. He was gonna make sure she didn't tell anyone. He flew into a rage and one day he couldn't take it anymore.

Riley's POV

"Riley, can I talk to you in the alley across from Topanga's today after school?"

"Um, sure Jackson. Why?"

"Just wanted to clarify some things."

Jackson waited in the alley after school. Riley showed up about 3 minutes after.

"You're late, Riley."

"I know I'm sorry. The stoplight didn't change."

"Whatever Riley. You're always late, this is why no one likes you. You're always full of excuses and everyone is sick of it. The world doesn't need you in it Riley. You're nobody. You can't even get anywhere on time. How are you going to go through life? Maybe it's sign you don't deserve it."

I started crying. How could he say these things to me again? He said he was sorry. He said he didn't mean it. This time, he definitely meant it. I was only 3 minutes late and he's mad again. Why am I so dumb? Why can't I get places on time? Why me, why.

"I'm sorry about this I really am! It's all my fault. I know it's always my fault. I'm sorry I'm so dumb. I really don't deserve to live."

I couldn't believe the words that just came out of my mouth, but now that I heard them, I realized that they were true. No one would care if I just disappeared. The world would be much better off without a childish, annoying, stupid person like me around. I bet no one would even come to my funeral. Everyone would be celebrating that they wouldn't have to pretend to love me anymore. I was snapped out of my thoughts as Jackson grabbed me by the wrist and threw me to the ground.

"You're right, you don't."

He then punched me in the same cheek that was already bruised, hit me in the forehead, and finally, punched me right in the eye. Or so I thought that would be it.

I was lying on the ground, curled up in a ball, trying to regain vision in my right eye, when I felt him grab my shoulder harshly and whisper in my ear.

"I'm not done yet, Riley. You deserve to feel all the pain you gave me and more."

He took me by the wrist and threw me at the wall. My wrist hit the wall at a weird angle and I heard a crack, it was broken. It hurt so badly and I started bawling.

"Please stop you broke my wrist it really hurts."

He laughed, "No way you're done, there's so much more pain for you to feel."

He took me by the neck and pinned me to the wall.

"You better not tell anyone about this. Not even Farkle."

He let go of my neck and chuckled. He walked away laughing while I sat on the ground in pain.

I was still crying on the ground. I can't believe he hurt me again. He promised he wouldn't do that again.

I ran home and thought about my life. It doesn't matter. Does it? I decided after 10 seconds that my life did not matter.

Hi! I know that I said that Chapter 4 is very eventful, but I was wrong. Chapters 5-7 are very intense and a lot happens in those chapters. Chapter 4 kind of foreshadows and introduces what happens in the coming chapters. Sorry about that. I will post Chapter 5 tomorrow. Please review! Thank you!


	5. Chapter 5

Here's Chapter 5. This is a very intense chapter so I will just warn you now.

Chapter 5: Riley's POV

The next day came and I didn't go to school. I knew this would worry my friends. That is, if they would even notice. I honestly did not care anymore. I had to use the day to think about how I would finally escape Earth and everyone would be free. Including me. I wouldn't be a burden on my family or "friends" anymore and they could all move on with their lives. According to some research that I did, there were a lot of ways I could do it, but I thought the best way would be to leave right outside my favorite spot in the world. I climbed outside the bay window and onto my balcony. I sat on the edge and waited. Waited for some sign from the universe, or God, or whoever. I didn't know anymore.

As I was sitting, I saw Farkle walking down on the street below. He was coming to my house, I wondered if this was a sign for me to stay… Then I remembered none of my friends cared. I have no friends… No one wants me… I decided it was time to go. I braced myself. I thought about my life so far. All the memories my friends and I shared… Were they even real? I thought about Auggie and my parents… I hope at least they will miss me… Then I remembered Jackson's words. I was worthless to them. I knew it was time now. I lifted my foot.

"RILEY WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? GET DOWN FROM THERE RIGHT NOW! WHAT IS GOING ON?!"

I whip my head around to see Farkle. I thought I would have jumped off before he got here, but I guess I thought for too long. Way to go Riley. Being stupid again. I can't even end my life correctly. This is why I should jump right now.

"GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW! I THINK RILEY'S ABOUT TO JUMP OFF HER BALCONY! HURRY MAYA. AND GET LUCAS AND ZAY TOO."

I heard Farkle shove his phone away. This was it. I took a breath.

"RILEY." Farkle grabbed my already broken wrist.

Terrible memories of Jackson beating me up flooded back as I winced in pain.

"PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! PLEASE STOP STOP! STOP! STOP!" I yelled.

Farkle let go of my wrist immediately, then grabbed my waist.

"RILEY GET DOWN NOW!"

He was holding a spot right near my bruise. I really hope he doesn't move his arm anymore.

"Farkle, please let me go. It's my time."

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, RILEY?!"

I heard 3 pairs of feet sprinting up the fire escape. I turn around just enough to see that Maya, Lucas, and Zay had come.

"Riley. What. Are. You. Doing." Maya asked cautiously.

"I'm doing what's right." I said.

"Is that a BLACK EYE Riley?" Lucas asked. I guess I had turned too far around.

"It's nothing I got hit with a ball in gym today."

Farkle knew this was a lie, but he didn't call her out quite yet. He was going to wait and see how she took this.

"Riley, darling, would you please get down from there. You are really scaring me.' Zay said.

"Fine, only Maya can touch me, though, I don't want any of you guys hurting me."

"Why on earth would any of us hurt you, Riley?" Farkle asked.

His hand was still on my waist. I slowly removed it. "Please, just Maya."

Maya quickly ran over and helped me down.

"Now Riley, what really happened." Farkle asked, making direct eye contact with me.

"Yeah, and why would you think any of us would EVER hurt you?" Lucas questioned.

"Sorry, I'm just really tired and I was watching this segment on guys abusing girls and I just got scared is all."

"Ok, um… Riley why don't you get some rest and we'll talk tomorrow then?" Maya said.

"Deal. Have a good night!" I said, quite relieved to finish the conversation.

"Fine, but Riley if you ever decide to jump off, you know I will jump with you right." Lucas added

"Same here." Zay said.

"Thanks guys, have a good night."

The three that arrived together left slowly the same way, down the escape.

I got a text from Jackson… "I don't think you learned your lesson. I think I should teach you some more. Meet me in the alley in 10 minutes or I'm going after Maya and Smackle. Don't be late."

Farkle asked, "Riley, Who's that text from?"

"Oh, just my dad telling me he'd be back soon. You should go Farkle, don't you have homework to do?"

"Okay Riley, but you know you can always tell me if something is wrong, right?"

"I know."

With that, Farkle left.

I sprinted to get to the alley, hoping I wasn't late this time.

"There she is." Jackson said smugly.

"I'm here for my lesson."

"Good job, and 2 minutes early this time."

Jackson grabbed me and threw me at the wall. He started throwing punches and slapping me.. I tried to fight back at first, but I soon realized that it was no use. I guess I did get one pretty good kick in Jackson's groin, though. He yelled and me and told me that I shouldn't have done that. I was sore all over. I finally gave up. I just sat there and let it happen. I was useless. I sat limp as he destroyed me physically, mentally, and emotionally. After about 8 minutes of beating me up, he stopped. I could see my blood out of the corner of my eye, and I was pretty sure my nose was broken.

"Lesson over." Jackson smiled.

He left the alley and I just sat. Then… I heard… Farkle?

"RILEY? OH MY GOD! IT'S OKAY. I'M RIGHT HERE. YOU'RE SAFE NOW."

I could barely breathe, but I managed to whisper out a few raspy words.

"F-Farkle, how did you... Where… have you…".

"Shh. It's okay, Riley. Don't try to talk."

He set my head on his lap and began gently rubbing my hand with his. I could feel and partially see a few wet tears on his face and the terrified look in his eyes.

"I saw you leave your bay window after we all left and I decided to follow you. I heard someone scream, so I ran over and saw Jackson beating you up. I wanted to intervene, but you and I both know that I would lose against him. I'm no match for him. I called your parents, the police, Maya, and everyone. They're all going to meet us at the hospital. The ambulance will be here soon. You're going to be okay, Riley.

He was trying so hard to sound confident and reassure me, but I could hear the shakiness and uncertainty in his voice. I could feel myself slipping out of consciousness quickly, but I couldn't do anything about it. I grabbed onto Farkle tighter, which I hoped would let him know that something was wrong.

Riley, I know you're scared and honestly, so am I, but I need you to stay with me, okay? Just keep your eyes open and focus on me. Stay with me, Riley.

Even though I couldn't see or feel anything anymore, I managed to give a weak smile and say,

"Always."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Farkle's POV

I watched as the ambulance pulled in and a few paramedics put Riley on a gurney and whisked her into the ambulance.

"Are you family?" One of them asked.

"I'm just a long time friend."

"Sorry kid, Only family in the ambulance."

"What? Please sir, I'm all Riley has right now. If she were to wake up on the way, she will want to see a familiar face. I need to stay with her."

"Whatever. I guess I'll let it slide this time. Hop in."

The ride to the hospital only took about 7 minutes, but I could swear I was in that ambulance for eternity.

When we finally arrived, the paramedic helped me jump on to the concrete and then proceed to take Riley out and wheel her into the emergency room.

"Name is Riley Matthews. 15 year old female. Abuse Victim. She's got some pretty obvious broken bones, possible head injury, and contusions. I recommend a CT. She lost consciousness just minutes before we were on the scene. She also has several fractured ribs and what looks like a broken pelvis to me."

"Alright, You heard him, Get this girl into CT. Did they catch the guy who did it?"

"No. Her friend witnessed the whole thing and said he has the guy's name and what he looks like.

I didn't know where to go, so I decided to ask.

"Excuse me, um, is there somewhere I can get cleaned up and wait?

The doctor looked at me weirdly before nodding her head and responding.

"Yes. There are bathrooms right around the corner and the waiting room is over there."

She pointed to a space beside the ER with several rows of chairs filled with friends and family members of patients anxiously waiting to hear good news. Or maybe it wouldn't be good. In that moment, I prayed that I would be one of the people who received good news that day. I've never prayed before. I've never actually believed in God, but in this moment, I thought it was appropriate to give it try. I was snapped back into reality when I heard one of the nurses start yelling something along the lines of:

"She's crashing in CT! Get a crash cart, now!"

"Okay, thank you."

I soon realized that the doctor I was talking to was no longer standing beside me so I awkwardly walked towards the bathroom. I could swear I saw a glimpse of Maya sitting in one of the chairs, sobbing into Lucas's shoulder as he rubbed her back and wiped tears from his own eyes, but I just kept walking.

Once I had cleaned the blood off of my clothes and hands the best I could, I decided to go sit in the waiting room. I walked back through the E.R and tried to find Riley, but I didn't see her. I finally gave up and started walking towards an old, red chair on the end of the 1st row, but I realized that I really had seen Maya and Lucas earlier. Before I could say anything to them, Lucas saw me and shook Maya's shoulder.

"Farkle? What is going on? Where's Riley? Who hurt her? Did the police catch him? Oh My God, I swear to God, I am going to kill and murder whoever did this to her."

"Slow down, Lucas. Yes it's me. I don't entirely know what's going on, I don't know where Riley is, I do know who hurt her and trust me, you are going to want to kill him. I do too. As far as I know, the police have not caught him yet. And finally, kill and murder are synonymous so you don't need to use both."

"Bigger issues, Farkle." Lucas said through his teeth.

"Okay, right. Maya, are you okay?"

"Am I okay? Hmm well let's see here. Uh my best friend has been acting really weird and distant the past few weeks, has lied to me several times, tried to kill herself, and is now in the hospital because some guy decided that she was a punching bag! So no, I'm not okay. Thank you for asking, though."

"Okay. Bad choice of words. I mean, How are you holding up?"

"Just fine, thanks." Maya rolled her eyes and gave a very sarcastic smile.

"Cut the sarcasm, Maya. For once, please just take something seriously." Lucas sneered.

"What's that supposed to mean, Huckleberry? You think this is a joke to me? Well then, allow me to clarify. IT'S NOT. Maya jumped out of the chair she was sitting on and got right in Lucas's face.

"Alright, alright. Guys, calm down." I said as I pulled Maya away from Lucas and into my arms. "Both of you. We're all scared and angry, okay. Just don't take it out on each other. Let's focus on Riley right now. She doesn't think we care and we have to show her that we do." I let go of Maya and lead her back to Lucas.

I looked around the waiting room and noticed that everyone was staring at us. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a couple run in through the side door. The woman was holding the hand of a young boy.

"Oh crap." I accidentally said out loud.

"What?" Lucas and Maya said in sync.

A/N: That's Chapter 6. Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews and suggestions I have received. There are still 2 chapters left until this fanfiction is finished. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I do writing it. Chapter 7 will be up tomorrow. That's all for now. Thank you for taking the time to read my work and for all of your support! - Rachel


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7- Farkle's POV

"Riley's parents are here." I wasn't looking forward to this.

"Excuse me." I heard the man say to the receptionist. "My name is Cory Matthews. This is my wife, Topanga. Our daughter was in some kind of accident or something. Can you get us to her?"

"Yes. Sir, what is your daughter's name?" the receptionist replied.

"Matthews. Riley Matthews. She should have come in with a Farkle Minkus. Where is she?"

"Sir, according to my chart, your daughter is in the O.R. having a collapsed lung repaired right now. Just have a seat here and one of Riley's doctors should be out to update you very soon."

"Cory, there they are." Topanga pointed at Maya, Lucas, and I. She started walking walking towards me and I wanted nothing more than to run away and avoid telling them what happened, but my legs wouldn't move. I felt paralyzed. I knew I had to break the news, since I was the only one who actually knows what's going on.

"Mrs. Matthews. I'm so sorry. I should've done something." I started sobbing and I felt her grab my waist and engulf me in a hug.

"It isn't your fault, Farkle. Not at all. Now sit down and tell us what on earth happened."

I took a deep breath and began to tell the story of what I had just witnessed and experienced. Lucas, Maya, and Riley's parents listened intently as I explained. They had taken Auggie to a playroom on the other side of the waiting room so that he couldn't hear. Mr. Matthews was gripping onto his wife's hand and trying not to burst into a fury of tears and anger. Lucas had his arm wrapped around Maya's waist and would occasionally react to what I said. Sometimes he would put his head into his hands or clench his fists. He even kissed Maya on the cheek a few times. Once I finished, I saw the doors to the O.R open, and one of the doctors that I recognized walked out and took his scrub cap off.

"For Riley Matthews."

All 5 of us quickly gathered ourselves and stood up.

"How is she?" Maya said while wiping her eyes.

Just then the doors swung open.

"WE'RE HERE!" Smackle yelled

"WHAT HAPPENED?! DID SOMETHING HAPPEN?" Zay asked frantically.

The doctor calmly replied, "We're just getting there. I'm assuming you are friends of Riley Matthews? Why don't you join her parents and your friends."

Smackle and Zay quickly came and stood next to Maya. I could tell Smackle had been crying a little and so had Zay. Zay was trying to appear strong so he quickly wiped his eyes and put on a poker face. Maya hugged Smackle and Lucas patted Zay's back. Cory and Topanga just looked at the group of friends and smiled. They knew we'd always be there for Riley.

I was ready to hear the news.

"Okay, first. I have to ask if you 5 actually want to hear this. I can take her parents alone and they can tell you if they find it necessary."

"Anything you say to us, you can say to them. They're practically family to Riley and to us. They can handle it." Topanga looked over at us and smiled.

"Okay. Well. As most of you know, Riley was the victim of an attack. She has endured a lot of physical and emotional trauma today and possibly before. She was unconscious when we arrived, but she was awake and alert up until that point. When she first got here, we did a CT scan of her head and neck to rule out any serious injury to the brain or spine. While we were running the scan, Riley's lung collapsed and she started crashing. If you don't know what that means, basically, her heart stopped."

I thought my heart stopped when I heard those words. It was Riley that was crashing in CT. I heard a few gasps and saw a few people grab hands as he continued.

"We were able to resuscitate her after about 45 seconds, but we knew that something was wrong and we had to get her into an O.R. as soon as possible. That's what we just finished doing. Riley is now stable overall. She is still unconscious, but we are not worried about that. It is normal for a person's body to have difficulty waking up after a trauma like Riley's. We have her back in CT now and I will be receiving those scans very shortly. Other than the collapsed right lung, Riley also has several fractured ribs and a broken pelvis. Her left wrist is shattered and she dislocated her right shoulder. She has many contusions and scratches on her face, stomach, and arms. Along with that, her nose is broken and she has a subconjunctival hemorrhage in her right eye. That's a big, medical word that means she has a broken blood vessel in her eye.

There are several fingerprint marks on her neck, which makes me think that her attacker attempted to choke her, but it looks like she was able to get free from that. I will let you know the results of the CT as soon as I receive them myself. I cannot begin to empathize with you all right now, and I know that all of this medical stuff sounds very scary, but I promise you that your daughter and friend is in very good hands and is expected to make a full physical recovery. Her mental and emotional health may be severely altered after an event like this, but we have wonderful PTSD therapists here and I can also recommend some others in the area.

What I am most worried about is how she will react when she wakes up. In my experience with girls that are victims of abuse, she may be very scared of teenage boys or men in general. She knows that you guys wouldn't hurt her, but her mind is tricking her into thinking that every man and boy is going to harm her. It will be really odd and hard for a while, but she will eventually realize who you are and be able to trust you again."

"So she won't want to see us? Not even her dad?" I couldn't believe what the doctor was saying. Riley could be terrified of us and her own father.

"Most likely, she will not want to see any males for a while, unfortunately including her father. Just give her time. She will come around soon. Now I'm not saying that will definitely happen, but it usually does."

Woah. That was a lot. I knew I shouldn't have just stood there. I should've stopped Jackson and saved Riley. It's too late now. I didn't even think about her being scared of us. I won't even be able to see her for a while because she'll be terrified of me.

"Thank you, Doctor..." Mrs. Matthews managed to choke out in between tears

"Ray. Simon Ray. I will come back as soon as I get the CT results. Excuse me, I'm being paged."

The doctor walked away and I saw Maya fall to her knees and Lucas lean down next to her and hold her as she sobbed. I joined them on the ground and stroked Maya's hand just like I had to Riley's while we waited for the ambulance. I couldn't get the images of Jackson punching Riley and her just letting him hit her over and over again. Then there was the moment that I saw her lying on the concrete, barely conscious. Those images will never leave my memory. They are permanently engraved into my brain and will haunt me for my entire life. Zay soon has his arm around Lucas and Smackle around me. We were in a huddle, all trying to comfort one another. It wasn't really working and we all knew it, but we didn't care. I felt safe with them. Finally, Maya broke the huddle and the silence with it.

"How could someone do this? To Riley! What did Riley ever do to deserve this? Oh that's right, NOTHING! She didn't do anything wrong. She is a good person and she believes in things and trusts way too easily. Why Riley? Why would God let this happen to her? Where was he? Cuz he sure wasn't with Riley while some idiot was beating her and trying to kill her. I want to know who is responsible for ruining my best friends life! Who was it, Farkle?!"

Maya grabbed me by the shirt and yanked me towards her. I looked into her eyes, but I didn't see anything. They were completely hollow and dark. All of the beautiful ocean blue color was replaced with a light grey cloud over her. Maya was gone. I couldn't find her anywhere. I searched her eyes for several seconds hoping that I would see a sliver of color, but I saw nothing. All I could find was boiling anger and fear.

"ANSWER ME!" She yelled as she grabbed my shirt tighter and shook me.

"Okay, I'll tell you. Just sit down. Lucas you too. Alright. Here goes nothing. It was Jackson."

"WHAT?! THAT SON OF A B $&?!" I was able to cover Lucas's mouth just in time to stop him from saying something I knew he would regret.

"Wait, Jackson Hunt? The pitcher on our baseball team?! I thought Riley broke up with that jerk weeks ago!" Zay was furious. He had been hanging out with Jackson lately. After games, he and Lucas would invite him to get ice cream or cheeseburgers with them. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"She did. I don't know when this started, though. We'll have to ask Riley when she wakes up. Oh, uh Maya, would you ask her? Cuz you know, I won't be able to see her."

I couldn't get that off of my mind. Riley is going to think that I'm going to hurt her. She knows that I NEVER would, but she won't be able to get passed that for a few days, maybe even a few weeks.

"Hey, we don't know about that, yet." Mr. Mathews intervened. "She could be just fine seeing us, but if she isn't, we just have to let her figure it out for herself. Here comes the doctor again." I looked over and sure enough, Doctor Ray was walking towards us holding something that looked like scans.

Oh shoot. I thought. The CT results.

"Mr. and Mrs. Matthews?"

"Yes?" They replied in unison

"I have the results from the CT scan and I'm sorry, but I don't have good news."

Oh no. This is bad. Oh God. What did I let Jackson do to her?

"Unfortunately…"

You're going to have to wait until tomorrow to find out…


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8- Farkle's POV

"Unfortunately, Riley suffered several blows to the sides, front, and back of her head. A combination of those hits has caused a skull fracture, as you can see here."

He held up the scans and pointed to a part that looked like a piece of Riley's brain had been taken out. It terrified me.

"We call this a depressed skull fracture because of the way the injured part of the skull kind of caves in or depresses into the brain. This is very dangerous and it is going to require major surgery to repair. The good news that I have is that there is no visible cervical or spinal trauma on these scans. That means that Riley has no serious neck or spinal injuries and that is a very good thing. There is still a very, very minimal chance of brain damage or paralysis, but without the spinal trauma, the chance of that happening is less than 1/10 of a percent. I have to get back into the O.R now, but I will have one of my nurses come out and update you every half an hour.

"Thank you again, Doctor Ray. For being so patient with us and explaining everything so that we understand it." Smackle shook the doctor's hand as he smiled and turned to walk away.

"Another surgery?" Maya whispered. She had now lost her voice from all of the crying and screaming earlier.

"It looks like it, but guys, it's such a great thing that Riley's neck and spine aren't seriously injured. If you can find a bright side to this situation, it's right there. We should be thankful for that." Mrs. Matthews was trying to make us feel better. Now I know exactly where Riley gets her sun shininess from.

It was about 12 AM and I was still sitting here waiting for more information on the condition of Riley. Mr. and Mrs. Matthews went home around an hour ago because Auggie was tired and they didn't want him to get sick from being in the hospital. I had agreed to call them the instant someone updated us on Riley's condition.

Now it's about 1:00 AM and everyone had fallen asleep about 20 minutes ago. I was sitting here, lazily eating some chips that I got from the vending machine because I had to stay awake. Nurses who were leaving for the night walked right by and every time I thought one of them had information on Riley. That was not the case because it is now 2 AM and still nothing. I was about to fall asleep because fatigue had taken over, but then a nurse I recognized finally came out.

"Farkle right?"

I jumped up, "Yes that's me. Is Riley doing OK?"

"That's what I came out to tell you. She's doing fine. The surgeries went well and there were no complications. Would you like more information or do you want to wake your friends up so they can hear too?"

"I'll wake them up and I need to call Riley's parents."

"Alright no rush. The doctor will be out in about 2 minutes. I just wanted to brief you before I left."

"Thank you so much."

"No problem, I wish Riley the best of luck in recovering. She'll be fine, she's strong, I can sense it."

With that, the nurse left. I quickly dialed the Matthew's home phone and after 2 rings Mr. Matthews picked up.

"Come."

"We'll be right there."

I gently shook Maya awake, then Lucas, Zay, and Smackle.

"Did something happen?" Maya asked, still half asleep.

"She's out of surgery. The doctor is about to update us on her condition. I called her parents and they should be here soon."

The doctor walked out just as the Matthews ran in.

"How is she?" Mr. Matthews asked.

"She's fine. The surgeries and procedures we had to perform all went smoothly with no incidents. Riley is currently sedated quite a bit but we are sure she'll be up within around 20-30 minutes. She may be in a bit of pain since we performed quite a few surgeries and she may still be scared of the boys, but we expect her to make a full recovery. You may go see her now. She may not be awake yet, but you can go ahead and go in."

"Thank you doctor." Mrs. Matthews said.

All of us walked into room 443 where the doctor directed us to. Riley was lying on the bed in the most fragile position I've ever seen her in. She had a neck brace on, a wrap around her head, some casts around her arms where Jackson had broken her bones. This was making me mad. How could he do this to her.

We all stood in silence, most of us quietly weeping, for about 25 minutes. Finally, Riley opened her eyes. She looked around the room and when her eyes landed on Lucas, Zay, and Mr. Matthews, she went wide-eyed.

"Please don't hurt me. Please." Riley whispered.

"Riley, you know we never would." Lucas stated.

Riley thought for a moment. "I want to sleep."

"OK Riley, we'll all be back tomorrow morning." Mr. Matthews said.

We all left the room and Mr. Matthews talked to us.  
"I know we all want to be there for her. I know I want nothing more than to be in there holding her hand, but we know she just went through a lot and it may take a while for us to get Riley back. We should all come back tomorrow after getting some sleep and try again. We all know she's OK so that's what's most important. She may be experiencing some mixed emotions right now, but I'm sure it'll pass. Let's all go home and sleep and come back tomorrow around 9."

"OK." Everyone said. They were all tired and so was I so it made sense to go get some sleep. Riley is safe here and no one can hurt her.

Slowly, everyone left. I stayed behind saying I had to go to the bathroom first. My house was only a block down from the hospital so it was safe to assume I'd walk home afterwards. Once I was sure they all had left, I walked to the outside of Riley's room.

I had noticed she didn't get scared when she glanced at me. I was with her the whole time so maybe she wasn't as scared of me? I was going to try anyways so I took a breath and walked inside.

Riley was sitting up and looked at me. I looked at her. She started crying.

"Riley what's wrong?" I stepped closer to her until I could reach her right hand. The one not in a cast.

"Thank you for saving me Farkle."

"I didn't even save you. I let him beat you up. I should've stopped him. Look where you are now."

"Farkle, it's okay. You stayed with me the entire time. If it's not too much to ask, can you stay with me?"

"I never planned on leaving. Everyone went home to get some sleep, but they'll be back tomorrow."

"I only want you right now, Farkle. Now will you stay?"

"Always."

Epilogue:  
Over the next few weeks, Riley made a full recovery. Her friends visited her every morning and stayed until dusk every night that she was in the hospital. Farkle hardly went home. He spent all of his time with Riley. Making her smile and laugh. Slowly, her casts came off and her bruises began to heal. It took a little longer for her stomach and head to heal, but the bandages eventually came off from there too. Riley was released from the hospital after 3 ½ weeks of being stuck in a bed. She was told to take it easy and wait a little while to go back to school or do any kind of activity. Maya slept over every night and Smackle and the boys visited often. Giving Riley her missed homework and telling her all she missed at school. Riley went back to school 6 weeks after being released from the hospital. As for Jackson, the police found and arrested him. He was tried for attempted manslaughter and several other crimes that earned him 18 months in Juvenile Detention, all of Riley's hospital bills, expulsion from Abigail Adams High, and a restraining order issued by Topanga Matthews. Farkle asked Riley out 2 months later, and of course, she said yes. The next time that she said yes to him was 4 years later at their graduation ceremony when he proposed to her in front of the entire class.

That's it for this story. I hope you have enjoyed it. I will try to update "It Would've Been Me" as soon as I can. Thank you for reading!


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